Tradition meets modern in puja pandals at Delhi’s ‘mini Kolkata’
CR PARK The south Delhi colony has 12 Durga Puja venues where thousands from Delhincr visit to celebrate the festival
NEWDELHI: Durga Puja is here and Chittaranjan Park is ready.
There are 12 venues spread over this South Delhi colony and neighbouring GK and Alaknanda, which becomes a traffic nightmare during the four days of Puja with thousands of people from all corners of Delhi and NCR coming to this corner of the Capital for a slice of Bengal.
While some Puja committees have over the years taken up the theme puja concept like it has grown in popularity in the past two decades in Kolkata, others still follow the traditional model of big pandal with bright lights. What remains common is the fun and frolic, the lipsmacking food and cultural functions, the community lunches and prayer amid the dhaak beats.
In 1954, Chittaranjan Park came into existence by the name of EPDP Association (East Pakistan Displaced Persons’ Association). It was assigned as a Bengali Colony and people residing in various parts of Delhi moved in to this New Bengali residential area. The 70’s witnessed the start of Durga Puja celebrations in Chittaranjan Park.
At the B-block Puja committee venue, this year, the idol will be adorned in daaker saaj. These embellishments are primarily made from silver foil and further enhanced with silver sequins.
“This is our 42nd year. The pandal will be in the shape of a Mandir. It is a very conventional Bengali design. We will be going modest with the celebrations. Everything is minimalist. This will help the environment, too. Whatever money we save, we will develop the local park with it,” said Ashim Banerjee, spokesperson of the committee.
B-block has also been doing on site immersion for the past three years.
“Senior citizens can be a part of the visarjan this way as they can sit and watch the crane immerse the Durga idol in the water tank on our premises,” Banerjee said.
Diteet Paul of the Pocket 52 Puja Committee also stressed on celebrations without the garish extravagance and pomp without the collateral cost.
“We are building a traditional Bengali rajbari (royal home) as our pandal but have really kept check on costs. We have been talking about eco-friendly Puja for quite some time now, and in 2013 we were the first ones to start on site immersion. Praying doesn’t mean polluting. We don’t need to go the river and add to its toxicity. Responsible celebrations is a different kind of joy,” Paul said.
At Pocket 40, Shambhu Haldar and his team are working diligently to create a grand mandir on a section of the colony ground.
“I have been coming to Delhi for the past 8-10 years to build pandals during the Puja season. This year, we are using sor kathi, khori and ice-cream sticks, to embellish sections of the pandal. Belur Math has been done in Kolkata earlier by Puja organisers but not in Delhi,” Shambhu, who lives near Kalighat in South Kolkata, said.
Utpal Ghosh, president of Navapally Puja Samity, said, “This is our silver jubilee year. The mandap is a Belur Math-like structure.”
In the mandap, Niranjan Chitrakar from Kakdweep in South 24 Parganas in Bengal, is busy with colours on the idol.
“This year I am also doing the Cooperative Puja idol. The one here is fully clay. No cloth, plastic or any harmful material has been used. Even these are all water colours,” Niranjan said.
The nearby Cooperative Puja committee is showcasing Panchabhuta or five elements through Gond Art on it’s 42nd year of celebrating Durga Puja
“We will be showcasing the five elements using recycled and eco-friendly products. We are using wooden planks, ply boards, jute ropes, bamboo, coconut shell, clay and butter paper,” Snehita Roy Chakravorty, one of the organisers, said.
Cooperative Puja organisers, every year, come up with unique themes. “It all started in 1994, when we introduced the concept of mega pandals by building a replica of Kolkata’s iconic Victoria Memorial. These were made primarily of stretched cloth on bamboo frame,” she said.